Jo-Wilfried Tsonga outshines Feliciano Lopez to enter final round – China Open 2012
French number one, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, got the better of the Spanish contender, Feliciano Lopez, with a breadstick at the China Open 2012 on Saturday. He recorded a 6-1, 4-1 retirement victory against the world number 30 to secure a spot in the final showdown at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Beijing, China.
Seeded third in this event, Tsonga dominated the 42-minute marathon and eventually improved to a 5-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series against the 31-year-old. The left-handed Spaniard on the other hand was forced to retire from the second set with a left wrist injury.
“I played really well,” Tsonga stated. “I felt really good on the court. I'm just happy today with my game. I'm sure I will play good tennis in final.”
Tsonga stormed into the National Tennis Center. He drew the first blood in the second game and leaped to a 3-0 lead before Lopez could come on the score sheet. The French maintained his intensity and pocketed the last three games, eventually pulling out the opener with a breadstick.
Ranked seventh in the world, Tsonga carried his winning ways in the following set and after breaking the Spaniard’s opening serve, he jumped to a 2-0 lead. The French capitalised on another break chance in the fifth game and took a 4-1 lead. However, Lopez suffered a wrist injury and retired from the match, consequently rewarding Tsonga a place in the title-round.
The 27-year-old will face off top seeded Novak Djokovic for a chance to capture his third year-to-date title. Tsonga conquered the Qatar ExxonMobil Open (downed Gael Monfils) and the Moselle Open in Metz (tumbled Italy’s Andreas Seppi).
Djokovic praised the Frenchman and commented about the final showdown:
“He’s been playing really well. There's no secrets between each other, between us. I mean, we [have] played many times, played a lot of important matches on the big stage. He's a very powerful player, big serve, big forehand, and if that works, he can win against anybody on any surface, to be honest. So there is no clear favourite... It's going to be a good final hopefully for the tournament.”
The former world number one devastated Germany’s Florian Mayer with a breadstick in an hour-long venture to set up this clash.
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